Obama welcomes Mexico President Calderon to the White House

White House arrival ceremony for President Mexico Felipe Calderon (Photo by Lynn Sweet)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala at an elementary school on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Lynn Sweet)

WASHINGTON–With booming cannons giving a 21-gun salute and full military honors, President Obama welcomed Mexican President Felipe Calderon to the White House for a state visit on Wednesday morning.

Joining them in the outdoor arrival ceremony–the first of the Obama administration–were First Lady Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala, the former Mexican lawmaker who is Calderon’s wife.

The ceremony was full of flourishes–including a U.S. Military fife and drum corps dressed in U.S. revolutionary-era garb. Obama and Calderon inspected the troops–from the five U.S. Military branches standing at attention in formation.

Obama called Calderon a “neighbor, friend and partner.”

Calderon said the U.S. and Mexico can “overcome” challenges of major cross-border concerns, “migration,” organized crime, and climate issues.

FOOTNOTE: Mrs. Obama wore a rasberry outfit from Calvin Klein.